They do not need to, nor are they supposed to know anything about the vehicles they sell.

Their only job is to get them out of the door...

Though I agree in the enthusiast vs. salepeople delta, Jeep absolutely needs to realize they would get more of them out of the door if they knew just a bit more about the vehicles they sell.

This is particularly true for the higher priced vehicles with more features and benefits. Note the nearly $10k difference in base vs. fully loaded top end. Enthusiasts are the intended targeted customer.

As others have pointed out, the import guys understand this and are just as great at knowledge and service as they are on product quality.

Now that it appears Jeep has the product dialed, they need to get their service elevated to leverage this into the most success.

to not know your product is to shoot yourself in the foot as a sales person. i guess you dont have to know your product to hang around and sell cars but you'd do a lot better if you were well versed in the language of jeep.....

who would you guys buy from? A well informed, courteous, hungry salesperson, or some guy who knew nothing and acted like he could care less if you bought from him or not.

im buying from the guy who knows his product and treats me like he cares...lawnmowers, furniture, tools or whatever it may be.

but thats just me......

ive had some bad experiences with dealers.....one jeep dealer was doing warranty work on my car, not the dealer i bought from, the dealer i bought my 08 limited from went out of business, so i go to the dealer i bought my previous jeep from, an 07 laredo x. they were doing warranty work and refused to pay for my rental car or give me a loaner. thing was, i had rental car coverage through chrysler financial that was part of an extended warranty. I told them i had the coverage and they said sorry, we cant help you. get out, basically. i told them they were costing themselves a future sale, the sales manager, the owners son, said he didnt see it that way. i was tempted to drive my new overland by there on my way home from the dealer when i bought it back in july. rappahannock motors, king george VA.....i'll never go back. the salespeople there were great, but i'd never give them a dime of my money after that BS from the service manager.

I'll be buying another jeep in 2-3 years and guess where it wont be from.

customer service cost that dealer a sale in july, and a few future sales..... I wouldnt say they all suck, some are awesome. just not that one. The ones that care will make it in the long run, the crappy ones wont. Which is how it should be.

My first new car was a Nissan. I was looking to get a Sentra, but was fascinated by the SE-R Spec-V version, so I went for a test drive in it. I wasn't prepared to negotiate for that model. I was young and overexcited, so they ended up taking my young hide to the cleaners.

The next new car was a VW. They treated me a bit better, but also I was much more prepared. What impressed me, is they let me use their computer to check details on the internet. I got the car for invoice, where the sticker price was MSRP+lots (so they got some money and I got a good deal). They offered me a sales job after the deal was done. :P

I helped a family member buy a slightly used Mustang recently, and the Ford guys seemed to know their Mustang details decently well. But being with somebody else buying the car, I can see how most people are just clueless shoppers. He didn't know what a good price for the car really was, didn't know what a good loan rate was, didn't know what to expect for monthly payments. If I wasn't there, he probably would have overpaid by thousands and thousands and thousands.

At all three places, I hated how the actual negotiating works. They try to make the numbers as nebulous and complicated as possible, and give you offers based on monthly payment amount. You have to pull their teeth to get the details of each offer. What's worse, in my experience, is they don't seem to "get it" that I actually know what I'm talking about, that I won't settle for a bad deal, etc. They keep going back to "ask permission" from their box of doughnuts whether they can give me what I know they should be giving me.

When it's time for me to get my WK2 next year, I'll be paying cash (well, cashier's check) and have it pre-printed in the exact amount I'm willing to pay for exactly what I want. It will be a fair price for them and for me, based on research I'll have done already. I've heard of people doing this and STILL getting taken to the negotiating table, where they just have to repeatedly say "no, this is how much I'm paying".

Maybe Chrysler needs to start some "Grand Cherokee" dealers that only sell the GC, treat us like BMW customers instead of Dodge customers. :P

Thanks everyone for all the responses. You see my point except for Marlon i felt vindicates somewhat the lack of customer service and pride in the sale. I also would rather buy a laptop or cellphone or drill or anything for that matter from someone that is courteous and knowledgeable than the opposite. I actually would pay a slightly higher price of the service was better. It's a nationwide problem. Yet with the mantra of what we make makes us. How should we trust the workers at the manufacturing plant don't have the same work ethic the sales staff has.

This is a common issue throughout the world.. our dealers here are just as bad and misinformed on their own products.

one of the stupid things i was told was when i was discussing the difference between the Ram 5.7 (390HP) and jeep 5.7 (357HP). i mentioned that the Hp rating are different due to a number of factors, PCM tuning, exhaust, intake design etc..
rather than counter with valid info the sales rep just jumps in and says that Chrysler just lies to their customers to make them think they are getting better hp.. i.e the ram is said to have 390hp just to make it sell more.

whats sad is that this is a dealer which chrysler considers one of the best. my experiences and others say otherwise but hey who are we to judge we are only customers after all.

but to be honest i see this happening to many dealers of varying brands.. i've walked away from many purchases due to this problem and had the dealer (not the same as above) not given me the great offer that they had, i would not have bought the GC.

sales guy at the kc dealership i went to was easily the worst salesperson i have ever encountered. acted like he didn't have time for me. went through the motions like he was reading a script. very unproffesional. coming from audi where you are treated excellent...they have MUCH to improve upon in this department.

First, any sales person worth their weight knows the product they are selling. They may not know absolutely every aspect of the product, but they better be well versed in the major components. The enthusiast is the enthusiast, and in most cases this person actually “enjoys” knowing something the sales rep doesn’t about the vehicle they are considering. Hell, this just happened to me when I explained to my sales rep the difference between the 18” and 20” wheels and the Trail Rating.

The reality is that most dealerships train their employees in how to make the sale. This is typically less about product knowledge, and more about getting the customer to commit before they leave the dealership. We have all seen them. This is that dealership where the top down philosophy is… “What kind of payment can you afford?”… and “What will it take to have you driving home in a new vehicle tonight?” This is where the owner is pushing the GM, and the GM, in turn, is pushing the sales reps. Yes, the biggest lesson that can be learned is to know your products, and know them well. This can translate to strong customer relationship management, and that translates to returning, loyal customers.

Now, I want to toss the dealerships two bones here. First, Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep have about, what, 20 different vehicles in their lineup? And within that lineup, you have 3 to 4 variations within a particular model (SE, R/T, SRT8, Limited, Overland, 300, etc.). Now, think about the products here, unless you live in an affluent area, the Jeep Overland, Chrysler 300, and Dodge Viper are not regular sales at these dealerships. No, most dealerships are pumping out the Laredo, Ram Trucks, and the Town & Country minivan. So, give the sales rep a break if they don’t quite know that you get the full-sized spare when you order the towing package on your Grand Cherokee.

And that brings me to the second bone being tossed to the dealership. Knowledge is power, and the more knowledgeable your sales rep is, the more informed your customer shall be. But that knowledge must come from somewhere. This is where Jeep corporate could be doing a little better. The 730n / 430n debacle has been just that, a debacle. But if Detroit had communicated with the dealerships in a timely fashion, then there would not be as many issues. This, of course, is assuming corporate did not communicate well with the dealerships, which has been my read on the issue. But hey, what do I know? I’m just dropping 45k on a new Jeep WK2 Overland, and I’ve been not so patiently waiting for delivery.

Oh, and for the record. I love my dealership! I have a Jeep dealer less than 2 miles from my home, but I travel 15 miles to the next closest dealer because of their wonderful customer service, and yes, knowledgeable sales staff! www.zimmermanenterpriseschryslerdodgejeep.com

...They keep going back to "ask permission" from their box of doughnuts...

LOL this is a good one!

You no longer need to negotiate price while being in the dealership (especially if you pay cash, it makes it so much simper). It is much more comfortable and convenient to do from your home or office.

ONLY COME TO THE DEALERSHIP FOR THE TEST-DRIVE!

From my experience (Getting quotes via email - my experience.) not all dealers will work with you this way but some will. Those who won't don't deserve your business. I just had them bid against each other, then went to the dealer I wanted to purchase from and had him match the best price. Then I had him fax me price with all fees and taxes, I signed it, faxed it back to him and that was it.

If you have trade-in or have to use financing I think it can still work similar way.

I went to a few dealerships in the last two months, and had two salespeople say right to my face - 'you know more about the car than I do' - and then laugh.

As a girl, I think it's a bit different for me, because you can just feel the sliminess oozing from most sales people when they see the 'poor clueless woman' walk into the showroom. I get so much satisfaction from making them all feel like crap, and not even about the detail stuff that we all read about on the forums. I've had sales people not know the difference in HP between the 6 and the 8. Really?? REALLY?

It's definitely something that reflects on Chrysler but to be honest, I've walked into Audi, BMW, MB, VW and countless other showrooms and have been treated the same way. Maybe I was treated more courteously, maybe they gave me coffee and their waiting area was really nice, but the oozing slime was still there. Though this could be because I apparently am a clueless woman with money to spend.

I went to see the new 2011 JGC when it started showing up in the dealership showrooms. I drove up to one dealer driving my '05 JGC walked in and headed right to one of the new ones and started to open every door and every compartment. After 20 minutes I realized no one had yet came by and asked if I needed any help. I walked over to a sales rep and asked him if he was working in sales, I live in Montreal and I'm an anglophone, the guy responded to me in french. When I told him I didn't speak french well he took me to the receptionist so that she could translate to me that he was busy with a client. I asked the receptionist where this client is because this sales rep has been staring at me with his shirt untucked from his pants since I walked in? While they both looked at me stumped I told them that I'm interested in the new 2011 JGC can anyone help me out with it. They responded no! I went back over to the new JGC to finish looking at it, completely annoyed with the dealership when I noticed that the sales rep was now standing beside me. I informed him that I know the owner of the dealership and that I will tell him about this experience. Now the guy responds in english that he has done nothing. I told him you are absolutely right, you have done nothing when I showed interest in one of your products, then I walked out. When I mentioned this to the owner I was informed that this guy was the head of the sales team and that he will be talked to. When I returned his shirt was tucked into his pants but his attitude was still the same. It's too bad...

Let the horror stories continue it great gives me validation that its not just me. My favorite is the female story with the slime. Can't believe not one comment from the industry. To a prior comment on the variety and multitude of products the dealers have in inventory. I give them that maybe your not the expert on every product but that doesn't excuse the rude, reprehensible behaviour.